Spicy Tuna Pasta, Fennel Salad & Garlic Bread

Serves 4 - 6

Garlic Bread
1 ciabatta loaf
a small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
3 - 4 cloves garlic

Salad
2 bulbs of fennel
a bunch of radishes
1 lemon

Seasonings
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

Spaghetti
500g dried spaghetti
1 x 225g jar of tuna in oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 x 30g tin of anchovy fillets in oil
1 - 2 fresh red chillies
a small bunch of of fresh flat leaf parsley
8 jarred black olives, stoned
ground cinnamon
1 x 700g jar of passata or 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
1 lemon

To Start
Get ingredients and equipment ready, boil a kettle full of water and set the oven at 180 degrees or gas mark 4.  Put a large frying pan and a large deep saucepan on a low heat.

Garlic Bread
Slice the ciabatta at 2cm intervals but don't cut all the way through.  Chop the bunch of parsley.  Get a large sheet of greaseproof paper and scrunch it up under a running tap so it's slightly wet then lay it on a flat surface.   Put the chopped parsley along with salt and pepper, olive oil and 3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves onto the paper. Cover the bread in this mixture and rub it into the cuts.  Wrap the bread with the paper and put it in the oven.

Spaghetti
Add the spaghetti to the large pan of boiling water with salt and cook it for 12 - 15 minutes.  Put the tuna but not the tuna into the frying pan, add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and the capers, anchovies and their oil.  Chop the chillies and parsley stalks and put them in the pan as well, cook for 2 minutes stirring well.  Remember to stir the spaghetti every so often.  Chop the parsley leaves and set aside.  Add the tuna and break it up whilst stirring it in, also add the black olives.  Add a big pinch of ground cinnamon and the tinned tomatoes or passata.

Salad
Slice the fennel and radishes thinly in either a food processor or by hand.  Put them into a large bowl and squeeze over the juice of a lemon, some olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss it all together.

Spaghetti
When the pasta is cook, drain it and save a cup full of the cooking water.  Put the pasta into the pan with the sauce and add the reserved parsley, the juice of 1 lemon and some extra virgin olive oil.  Mix it all together and if it looks like it needs it add a bit of the cooking water to loosen it.

Serve with some of the salad and garlic bread.

Tips

• If you don't like your head blowing off only use 1 chilli, I like hot food and this was pretty spicy just with 1 chilli plus seeds.  
• If you don't like fishy tastes omit the anchovies.
• It's perfectly fine to just use olive oil all the way through without having to buy extra virgin olive oil.
• Unwrap the bread for a few minutes and put it back in the oven before everything is ready as it seemed a bit soggy before I did this. 

Verdict

I would definitely make this meal again, Steve and I both really enjoyed it.  A lot of pasta dishes are quite heavy and filling but this one wasn't, it was light and had a great kick to it from the chilli.  The fennel and radish salad was really light and refreshing and I will definitely be making that at my summer barbeques.  So simple and easy.  

Rating

7/10